Shurmur posted a 9-23 regular-season record in his two years at Cleveland. The writing was on the wall for both Shurmur and Heckert when Jimmy Haslam became the Browns' new owner this season. It's been no secret that Haslam has been committed to improving the on-field product as soon as possible.

The Browns fired head coach Pat Shurmur and GM Tom Heckert on Monday after the team's 5-11 finish in 2012. (AP Photo)

The firings had been reported by the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Sunday. Both Haslam and recently hired chief executive officer Joe Banner plan to move quickly in landing a new coach and G.M.

Given that Banner formerly worked as president of the Philadelphia Eagles, former Eagles coach Andy Reid is on the list of candidates. Other hot candidates are University of Oregon coach Chip Kelly and current Browns offensive coordinator Brad Childress. Longer shots are two men on the coaching tree of former Browns coach Bill Belichick—University of Alabama coach Nick Saban and current Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

After 4-12 and 5-11 campaigns, the job Shurmur did wasn't good enough to warrant confidence for 2013 and beyond. With a talented group of young players, especially offensively, the right replacement will be charged with developing those players, including RB Trent Richardson and QB Brandon Weeden.